VERANDAH MUSIC AT THE NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL 2026

(l-r) Matt Nightingale, Jac Bradley, Kev Bradley, Chloe Roweth, Jason Roweth, Graham Seal, Ollie Willis, Rob Willis

This year, Rob Willis and Olya Willis received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Folk Festival, recognising their sustained collection and documentation of Australian folklore and oral history. Under the banner of Sharing the Harvest we presented an hour- long selection of traditional song and music collected from many thousands of recordings of Australians from different cultures, countries, locations and occupations all around the country. See previous post on the collection at. 

We had plenty of help from the band in the picture above. Christina Mimmocchi, Gemma Turner and Clarita Derwent (The Third Voice) were also due to join us but were prevented by a virus from attending the festival. Like all the band members, they have taken part in festival performances organised by Rob and Olya over the past thirty or so years, completing the link between collecting, archiving and sharing the folklore harvest.

Graham, Rob and Olya

LAST OF THE OLD TIME BUSH CONCERTINA PLAYERS

Bob Bolton Collection, Bush Music Club

Here are some rare film clips of traditional Australian concertina players recorded by Rob Willis while collecting with John Meredith in the 1980s.

The players are Lionel Pietsch, Ernie Wells and Bob Payne, probably the last generation of old time bush players 

You can read John Harpley’s story about Bob from the original Verandah Music book here and find more recordings of his work at the National Library of Australia.

Bob and Rob squeezing

WALTZING MATILDA – A WHOLE NEW TAKE

Renowned Australian folk musician and singer Dave de Hugard has been singing and researching ‘Waltzing Matilda’, in one version or another, for many years. He has now released the fruits of his labours – a different angle on the origins of the famous song and a compelling new composition based on the original.

You can read about what ‘Banjo’ Paterson may have had on his mind when composing the first version of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ here

Listen to Dave sing his new song, ‘Waltzing Matilda: The Real Swagman’s Story’ here. (scroll to bottom of page)

Coincidentally, Dave also has a couple of new album releases out and available here

In the meantime, here are the lyrics of the new song:

'WALTZING MATILDA: THE REAL SWAGMAN'S STORY.'

There once was a swagman camped by the billabong,

Under the shade of a Coolibah tree.

He sang as he looked, at his old billy boiling,

“Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?”

“Who'll come a-waltzing, waltzing Matilda

  Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

  A billy, a swag, carrying a water bag,

  Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?”

Down came a jumbuk to drink at the billabong

Up jumped the swagman, he grabbed it with glee.

He sang as he put it away in his tucker bag,

“You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.”

“Who'll come a-waltzing, waltzing Matilda

  Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

  A billy, a swag, carrying a water bag,

  Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?”

These were troubled times – shearer's camps full.

Troops, police, everywhere – they would not clip that wool.

He saw the law a-comin' – something bothered him...

It could hav e been the jumbuk...or were they comin' after him?

“What they're after I don't know – I'm not gonna wait and see!”

He doused the fire, then into the billabong went he.

“For me Liberty!” but this was not to be...

Sadly he drowned by that Coolibah tree.

No more, no more would he waltz his Matilda,

Or throw down his swag 'neath the Coolibah tree,

Or sing away merrily, as he made his billy tea,

“Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?”

There is a little more to this swagman story

I will tell you something that has been told to me

You can still hear him sing, if you listen carefully,

Singing merrily away 'neath that Coolibah tree.

“Who'll come a-waltzing, waltzing Matilda

  Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

  A billy, a swag, carrying a water bag,

  Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?”

(c) Dave de Hugard

Castlemaine 

January 2026

THE PHILIP ASHTON VIDEO COLLECTION

THE PHILIP ASHTON VIDEO COLLECTION

Dave Mathias

Philip Ashton has been recording, photographing and videoing the stories of Australia for many decades. His collection covers a broad range of fascinating people, stories and topics, including field recordings of traditional musicians Dave Mathias and Harry McQueen and rare interviews with folklorists John Meredith, Bill Scott and Shirley Andrews, and much more. 

Many thanks to Philip for permission to put several of his videos on our Verandah Music Youtube channel here

lf you want to see more of Phillip's many significant recordings go here

Buskers, balladeers and broadsiders – or beggars - in colonial Sydney

 

The Flying Pieman - William Francis King

Tony Smith has been researching colonial Sydney's street performers - forerunners of today's buskers. You can read the results in our articles section here:

BALLADS AND POLITICS

Politics in ballad form – Stockwell and the 1975 Dismissal

Reviewed by Tony Smith

Whitlam speaking after the dissolution of parliament, 1975. National Archives of Australia A6180 13/11/75/34

Stephen Stockwell 1975: The Ballads of the Whitlam Dismissal (Tallebudgera Press 2025)

This book of some 160 pages includes 45 pages of ballads describing the key events of 11 November 1975. Media academic Stephen Stockwell has taken up the poet’s pen to explore politics. Previous publications include ‘The Voyage and the Vision’ and ‘The Phoenician Sonnets’.

On the fiftieth anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam government by Governor General John Kerr, all Australians will consider the strength of our democracy. Those of us who were appalled by the removal of the elected government by a representative of a foreign monarch will no doubt still worry that Australian democracy hangs by a thread. And given the possibility of involvement by the USA because of concerns for the security of its spy and military installations, we will no doubt wonder whether Canberra holds any power except with the permission of the UK and the USA. Stephen Stockwell explores these questions fearlessly.

Much of the content of the dozen or so ballads is explained in the essay which follows called ‘Spies, Lies and Sovereignty’. Stockwell focuses mainly on the foreign influence rather than domestic constitutional politics.

The ballads have titles for themes, such as ‘A Sovereign State’, ‘Smoking Gun’, ‘Loans Affair’, Bad Omens’ and ‘Aftermath’ or for people ‘Michael Hand’, ‘Gough Whitlam’, ‘John Kerr’, ‘Jim and Junie’ and ‘The Fall of Gough Whitlam’. ‘Prelude’ is also in ballad form and is echoed by an ‘Epilogue’. As well as both creative and academic style writing, Stockwell supplies illustrations in the form of original caricatures.

Introducing ‘The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads’ Russell (‘Australian Legend’) Ward explains that a ballad is ‘narrative folk-verse or narrative literary verse written in the style of folk ballads’. There is no point in opening old debates about what ‘folk’ might. John Manifold was sceptical about the utility of the term when he gave his influential book the title ‘Penguin Australian Songbook’. Importantly, Stockwell strives to make his ballads broadly accessible.

Most of the ballads are lengthy, but would be well received at the traditional Poets’ Breakfasts held at folk festivals. For me the shorter verse of ‘Prelude’ and ‘Epilogue’ are more succinct and appealing. The first opens with the question ‘Remember, remember November eleven/ That day of infamy/ When Gough Whitlam was sacked, democracy attacked/ We lost our sovereignty?’

The ‘Epilogue’ asks of the future ‘Will Eureka’s flag fly, o’er a nation that tried/ To live in liberty? Remember, remember November eleven/ As we yearn to be free/ We can’t escape the blame, while we’re pawns in their game/ And still a colony’. Stockwell does not let us off the hook.

In ‘Aftermath’ Stockwell notes that ‘Our scribes and artists are outraged,/ They rally to the cause: There’s Rodney Hall and Midnight Oil,/ The George Miller, of course/ My friend, that sleuth Jan Mkemmish/ Wrote “Gap in the Records’,/ Peter Carey penned “Tristan Smith”,/ Warned of “Amnesia’s” force’.

The irreverent Norman Gunston was there in 1975 on the steps of Parliament House with Whitlam and Kerr’s secretary. Musicians expressing disgust include Red Gum - ‘Tell Malcolm we’re serving, serving USA’ - and John Dengate with ‘Old King Kerr’. As recently as 2022 Bob Wilson and the Goodwills won the Alistair Hulett Songs for Social Justice Award with a song called ‘When Whitlam took his turn at the wheel’.

Other examples of satire appear in the work of John Clarke and cartoonist Michael Leunig, and in Warren Fahey’s ‘The Balls of Bob Menzies’ (1989). The Gillies Report in 1983 had a special called

‘Il Dismissale’. Most of these works were expressions of outrage at the political damage to the left and the shame heaped upon Australia.

Stockwell’s ballads focus on the broader question of the deleterious effects of foreign interference on our political culture. Stockwell is a musician, a member of ‘Brisbane’s Black Assassins’ an elusive punk band of the 1980s during the ‘Reich of Jackboot Joh’. A CD of the ballads would be a fine addition.

In concluding remarks Stockwell notes the unlikely reconciliation between Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser who took political advantage of the Whitlam government’s difficulties over supply and was known as ‘Kerr’s cur’. Stockwell sees a message of hope there for ‘our democracy, our nation and the sovereignty on which it rests: the Australian people – First nations, colonial settlers and multicultural migrants – we are all in this thing, Australia, together’.

 

BUSH TRADITIONS WEB RESOURCES

 

 

The new Bush Traditions website is at https://www.bushtraditions.org/ with a link to Australian Social Dance and Music an organisation dedicated to ‘interest and participation in traditional and contemporary social dance and its music’ - https://ausdam.org
 
The Australian Traditional Music Archive (ATMA) is at  https://austradmusic.au/ . Tunes and relevant information have been enhanced and made more accessible and usable.

All invaluable resources for study or pleasure.

OLD DAD ADAMS, BERT LLOYD, TEX MORTON AND ALL… THE CURIOUS HISTORY OF BILL BRINK

Bluey Brink the shearer was 'A devil for work and a devil for drink', according to the well-known song/recitation. Turns out that this popular item of bush humour has a complicated history of transmission in Australia and America - and back again. Read all about it and' Old Dad' Adams in our articles section at  https://verandahmusic.blogspot.com/p/articles.html

AUNTY DAWN SMITH – VERANDAH MUSIC BOURKE STYLE

Here’s a taste of how they sing and play around Bourke, NSW.  Aunty Dawn plays guitar and sings in the Australian country style. One the first video she performs ‘Tall Dark Man in the Saddle’ and on the second, with the vocal contribution of Chris Woodland, ‘Annabelle’.

 

Aunty Dawn is a long-standing friend of Chris Woodland who many years ago worked on stations in the Bourke area and formed firm friendships with many of the local Indigenous people. He met Aunty Dawn in the early days and they have remained in touch ever since. Aunty taught Chris the song, Annabelle.

 

These field recordings were made by Rob Willis, John Harpley and Chris Woodland in October, 2017. Enjoy.

 

Tall Dark Man in the Saddle https://youtu.be/l_yyRUnK0N0

 

Annabelle https://youtu.be/_Ie4u2LVsMk 

TRACKING CROOKED MICK – THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A BUSH LEGEND

 

The occupational hero of nineteenth and early twentieth-century Australian shearers was the fabled 'Crooked Mick'. Mick was a superhuman character most often seen on the Speewah, an equally fabled sheep station where the board was so long it took all day to get from one end to the other - by horse.

We've published a short article that tracks the origins and development of the legend of Crooked Mick and the Speewah on the blog at

 https://www.blogger.com/blog/page/edit/2138391645827947224/7470750486645019322

Read all about the over-sized superhero shearer who could shear three sheep with just two blows of his shears and needed eight ‘loppies’, or rousabouts, to carry the fleeces away - and even more lies!